Inspired by the inaugural break-dancing event at the Paris Olympics, Manhattan West in partnership with Works and Process announced the return of “Gather Round: Street and Club Dance Battles,” a free dance and music series open to the public. Taking place at Manhattan West Plaza in Midtown, Manhattan West by Brookfield Properties is a premier destination for food, retail, and culture, and serves as an ideal backdrop for this dynamic series. Works and Process has been fostering and promoting new works and artists through performing arts series since 1984, having staged events at venues such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Lincoln Center, and its 2024 season will kick off with the present series.
Photo: @seancheesecake. Courtesy of Manhattan West.
Comprised of four performances taking place on Wednesdays in September from 4:30–7 p.m., each event will showcase some of the genres most influential and exciting dancers and offer viewers insight into the vibrant world of break dancing. “Gather Round” promises to offer something new to both longtime followers of Works and Process’s programming series as well as those new to it, highlighting the organization’s longstanding commitment to dance.
Photo: @seancheesecake. Courtesy of Manhattan West.
The first performance to take place is “Behind the Groove: CeleBreak Outside! With Kwikstep and Rokafella,” on Wednesday, September 4. Kwikstep and Rokafella have curated “Behind the Groove” since 2009, a veritable dance party wherein the break-dancing community are invited to freestyle alongside classic dance music. The event provides a space and platform for dancers to present moves and skills that they have been working on. In this iteration, four breaking teams will participate in a battle, emceed by Rokafella.
On the following Wednesday, “Gather Round Kiki Ball” will celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride and the skills and styles of Ballroom Culture—which have become a cultural phenom—including Runway, Face, and Vogue. Subsequent events include “Fabulous Waacking Festival Fall Edition with Princess Lockeroo” and “Manhattan West Beatbox Battle with the Beatbox House.”
Photo: @seancheesecake. Courtesy of Manhattan West.
Situated in the heart of the city as well as Manhattan West and all it has to offer, “Gather Round” is an unmissable public art series that adds another vibrant facet to New York’s cultural fabric.
“Behind the Groove: CeleBreak Outside! with Kwikstep and Rokafella” will take place at 4:30 p.m. September 4, 2024, at Manhattan West Plaza. Explore the schedule of following performances here.